Buddy Johnson improperly spent $401,000 as supervisor of elections, audit says

[Political Tiger]

TAMPA — Former Hillsborough Supervisor of Elections Buddy Johnson improperly spent $401,000 in federal grant money that was supposed to be used for voter education, according to a new audit released Friday.

Most of the inappropriate spending was money paid to Schifino Lee, a South Tampa advertising firm that produced a public campaign last year for Johnson's office. A St. Petersburg Times analysis of the campaign showed that it promoted Johnson's image and re-election efforts at least as much as it educated people about voting.

The audit was done by Deloitte Financial Advisory Services, which was hired by Florida's Department of State to review Johnson's spending. The county must reimburse the grant money, but it will be up to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission to decide how much. The Deloitte audit said about $300,000 of the money it flagged could be offset, which means Hillsborough owes at least $97,000.

http://tampabay.com/news/hillsborough-countys-buddy-johnson-improperly-spent-401000-as-supervisor/1029776